2/19/2011 edit

Later ~What could only seem like a hangover is really a stasis~ Hiko greets Shinta

Shinta's eyes slowly rolled back into place as the first streams of morning light caressed his skin. He felt… clean? His hair was pulled back out of his face, and the mud stains that had seemed endless on his hands were gone. He sat up, displacing a thick blanket that had been placed over him at sometime during the night. Then his senses kicked up, he felt someone staring at him. He feverishly looked around to discover the source. A giant man sat in the corner with a sake bottle tipped to his lips. He watched curiously, bringing the bottle down slowly he wiped the residual liquor off his lips.

"So you're finally awake. It's been three days, I almost thought you were comatose or something," the man stood up dusting off his pants lightly, "I will go make us some breakfast then, be outside in ten minutes." Shinta stared dumbly at the door for five of those ten minutes before moving to his feet. No injuries, slight discomfort in some joints… probably from sleeping to long, or lack of movement all together he concluded. Shinta sighed to himself, he the last thing he remembered was an attack on the slavers, nothing else. He had no idea what was going on.

He stepped outside the small hut to see a kiln, and the tall swordsman bent over it. Something was in his hand, but Shinta couldn't make out what it was. He was far too short to see around the man's obscenely large billowing cloak. He coughed into his hand bringing the man's eyes to rest on him again. He looked uneasy… Shinta cocked his head to the side looking around.

"Where am I?" Shinta asked confused. He wondered vaguely if he had been sold to someone during the time absent in his memory. The massive man said nothing stoking the kiln fire lightly, Shinta looked more at his surroundings again leaning slightly against the hut frame. It vaguely occurred to him that nothing within the vicinity looked valuable, in fact it looked more like a vagabond's new settlement if he had to guess. The only thing proving him dead wrong was the well built kiln.

"You are in my care, which happens to be far to close to Kyoto for my liking. I suppose you wish to know what happened to your parents?" the swordsman asked. Shinta supposed he was referring to the slavers, and nodded slightly, "they're all dead, you were the only survivor of a bandit attack. After ensuring their corpses were buried adequately I brought you here. Where you slept for three days, that is the extent of my knowledge of your situation." Shinta brought a hand to his chin. He hadn't dared to consider he was free and just in someone's temporary care for now. He smiled slightly sitting on the log in front of the kiln. The man looked at him slightly confused.

"Well I can't say that's much of a disappointment in some aspects. I'll miss the girls, but not those slavers," Shinta rubbed his arms and suddenly found a cloak around his person, "my parents have been dead for longer than I can remember. My guardians let me leave and I was almost immediately picked up by those slavers. Not that it was my intention…" Shinta sighed pulling the cloak closer around him.

"Unfortunate is what that is boy, so do you have any plans now that you're free again?" the swordsman asked looking at the red head as he stared into the flames lazily. The boy shrugged glancing one eye his direction. "Why not stay here and train in swordsmanship? I am in need of a worthy apprentice…" Shinta smiled lightly, and shook his head passing the cloak back to the swordsman.

"No thanks…" Shinta bowed crimson bangs blocking his expression for a moment, "I don't really think learning the sword will help me in my journey. After all my goal is to save people, not kill them…" Shinta was about to walk away when he felt the swordsman's hand on his shoulder.

"Reconsider, if only for this reason. The sword style I would teach you, Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu is not just swordsmanship. It is a fast paced dance that is not to be outmatched, striking faster than normal eyes can track it will allow you to defend whomever you need to without the worry of defeat. I can tell you, no style can match it in Japan," the swordsman explained. Shinta watched his eyes cautiously, and listened to his speech keeping his eye on the billowing edge of the cloak. He removed the hand from his shoulder gently. "It would make me feel a lot better if you weren't wandering around on your own without some form of defense."

"Very well, if you insist, I shall remain as your new pupil in the art of the sword," Shinta sat on his knees suddenly, "may I ask the name of my new master?"

"Seijiro Hiko the XII, although Sensei is what you will be calling me from now on," the giant man made Shinta feel rather comfortable in this chaotic time, "so what is your name my apprentice?" Shinta looked up at the man then back down at the fire, he had many memories of many names, including some he was quite sure he would have rather forgotten.

"I am known as Shinta here, in other parts of the world… I wish not to remember those names," Shinta nodded to himself reaffirming the thought that had crossed his mind, "I do not believe many would quiver at such a name, they would perhaps mistake my features and name as a woman's. I am more than ready to discard it." Hiko frowned looking at the boy, the child was strangely wise on that, and he was finding it hard to disagree with the boy's logic.

"Then Shinta it is no longer, what about Kenshin? Do you find that appropriate my pupil?" the big man asked. The boy who was most certainly not a child nodded. "Then Himura Kenshin you are from this point onward."

So there are canon events taking place, if there are any questions about whats going on, or if I have forgotten something majorly important to the story line feel free to drop a review.